1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molecular device including a source region and a drain region, a molecular medium extending there between, and an electrically insulating layer between the source region, the drain region and the molecular medium. More particularly, the present invention relates to a molecular device in which the molecular medium is a thin film having alternating monolayers of a metalxe2x80x94metal bonded complex monolayer and an organic monolayer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the past three decades, considerable progress has been made in the understanding of dinuclear compounds containing multiple metalxe2x80x94metal bonds. Both the experimental and the theoretical aspects of these compounds have been explored extensively. These studies have provided a large body of information particularly in the following areas: the reactivities of the dinuclear cores, the strengths of metalxe2x80x94metal interactions, the electronic transitions between metal-based orbitals and those involving metal to ligand charge transfer, the redox activities of the dinuclear core, and the correlation among these properties (See, e.g., Cotton, Walton, Multiple Bonds Between Metal Atoms, 2nd Ed., Oxford, 1993).
Efforts focusing on technologically important applications of dinuclear compounds have led to many promising research areas, such as inorganic liquid crystals (See, e.g., Chisholm, Acc. Chem. Res., 2000, 33, 53), antitumor agents (See, e.g., Hall, et al, J. Clin. Hematol. Oncol., 1980, 10, 25), and homogeneous and photolytic catalysis (See, e.g., Doyle, Aldrichimica Acta, 1996, 29, 3; Nocera, Acc. Chem. Res., 1995, 28, 209).
Layer-by-layer assembly techniques to fabricate multicomponent films has been explored in the literature. One of the most developed systems grown layer-by-layer is the layered metal phosphates and phosphonates. The films include multivalent metal ions, e.g. Zr4+, and organic molecules terminated with an acidic functionality, e.g. a phosphonic acid (See, e.g., Cao, Hong, Mallouk, Acc. Chem. Res., 1992, 25, 420). Katz and co-workers have used this method to align hyperpolarizable molecules into polar multilayer films that show second-order nonlinear optical effects (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,217,792 and 5,326,626). A similar approach has also been extended to other materials such as polymers, natural proteins, colloids, and inorganic clusters (See, e.g., Decher, Science, 1997, 277, 1232). This same technique has also been applied to the production of other multilayers including Co-diisocyanide, dithiols with Cu, and pyrazines with Ru (See, e.g., Page, Langmuir, 2000,16, 1172).
Among the existing examples, the driving force for the film progression is mainly the electrostatical interaction between polycations and polyanions; few examples involve other types of interactions, such as hydrogen bond, covalent, or mixed covalent-ionic. The present invention utilizes strong covalent interactions, rather than ionic interactions, between the metals and the ligands in a novel strategy to assemble nearly perfectly packed mutilayers.
Despite the abundance of activity in these areas, these efforts have been limited to the study and use of the metalxe2x80x94metal bonded compounds in solution-based systems. To harness the electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of metalxe2x80x94metal bonded materials in solid-state applications and devices, development of new methods for making thin films containing functional metalxe2x80x94metal bonded complexes are needed.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a molecular electronic device having a drain region, a molecular medium extending there between, and an electrically insulating layer between the source region, the drain region and the molecular medium. The molecular medium in the molecular device according to the present invention is a thin film having alternating monolayers of a metalxe2x80x94metal bonded complex monolayer and an organic monolayer prepared by layer-by-layer growth.
The present invention provides a molecular device including:
a source region and a drain region;
a molecular medium extending between the source region and the drain region; and
an electrically insulating layer between the source region, the drain region and the molecular medium.
The present invention further provides a molecular device including:
a source region and a drain region;
a molecular medium extending between the source region and the drain region, the molecular medium including a thin film having alternating monolayers of a metalxe2x80x94metal bonded complex monolayer and an organic monolayer prepared by layer-by-layer growth;
a gate region disposed in spaced adjacency to the molecular medium, and
an electrically insulating layer between the gate region and the source region, the drain region and the molecular medium.
The present invention still further provides a molecular device including:
a source region and a drain region;
a molecular medium extending between the source region and the drain region, the molecular medium including a thin film having alternating monolayers of a metalxe2x80x94metal bonded complex monolayer and an organic monolayer prepared by layer-by-layer growth; and
an electrically insulating layer between the gate region and the source region, the drain region and the molecular medium.